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Journalism of Courage
Those thousands of men and women, employed by Bihar state corporations, who didn8217;t get paid for years have suffered in ways that are impossible to document entirely. Subhash Chandra, once an accounts section officer in a state corporation, who spent years roaming from office to office in search of elusive dues. Champa Devi, a sweeper in another unit, who didn8217;t get her salary for the last 12 years and whose sons lost out on an education. Shiv Narain Singh, a doctor, who couldn8217;t afford to buy shoes for his child because he had no money.
These were only some of the stories from an unending list that this newspaper had resurrected in the series it ran last August, entitled 8216;Bihar8217;s bloodless murder8217;. But even the most facile writing cannot capture the despair of lived existence and lost lives. That8217;s why the Supreme Court ruling on Friday assumes such importance. Responding to a public interest petition, it directed Rabri Devi8217;s state to deposit Rs 50 crore with the Patna High Court towards the disbursal of all unpaid salaries. There is a simple but important principle being upheld here: Accountability is also about settling accounts. By delivering this judgement the apex court was only discharging its responsibility as the court of last appeal, the only remedy available to a group of people, and their families, let down not just by their immediate employers, but by the state government and the politicians who rule Bihar today.
